


The Underworld's Jealousy

by Takara_Phoenix



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Frazeleo, House of Hades Feels, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Nicercy - Freeform, Polyamory, Reyna and Nico are bros, Shounen-ai, Slash, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 02:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2332376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set right after "House of Hades".<br/>Reyna and Nico are on their way to return the Athena-statue to the Greeks and Reyna spends her time wondering what is going on with the son of Hades.<br/>Percy and Annabeth suffer from nightmares about Tartarus.<br/>Hazel and Frank are jealous about this Calypso-chick.<br/>Everything gets easier when Reyna and Nico return to the Argo II after having finished their mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Let's Contemplate

Title: The Underworld's Jealousy – Five Easy Steps to Happiness

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; right post House of Hades

Disclaimer : All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome, hurt/comfort, fluff

Main Pairings: Nicercy, Frazeleo

Side Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth, Jason/Piper, Frank/Hazel (established)

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace

Summary: Five-shot about what should happen after _House of Hades_. Nico journeys with Reyna and bonds with her, Frank and Hazel are not happy about Leo thinking of Calypso, Leo is confused by his feelings, Jason wants to help Nico, Reyna questions why her loyalty seems to lay by Annabeth, while Annabeth and Percy try dealing with what they had been through in Tartarus.

 

**The Underworld's Jealousy**

_ Five Easy Steps to Happiness _

 

_Step 1: Let's Contemplate_

 

The darkness of the night was appreciated. It made ignoring the fact that he was alone so much easier. Glaring at the fire in front of him, he poked it for a last time before it went out. No need to draw attention to their little camp side. And it didn't do much for him to feel warm anyway.

“Hey. If you want, you can rest now... I just, I just couldn't sleep.”

Nico had a hard time not jumping out of his skin. He had been sitting there for hours now, all on his own. He had nearly completely forgotten about his companions. Mainly so because he really wasn't used to having companions. The beautiful Puerto Rican girl approached him slowly, like you would approach a wounded tiger, cautious to not anger him. It was ridiculous, really. Nico hated when people acted like that around him. No one really took him serious because he was just that pale, scrawny kid, yeah? Until they see what he is capable of. He had seen the way Jason Grace kept looking at him after—well, he had seen it anyway. Even the mighty son of Jupiter was afraid of Nico's powers. In a weird way, that gave Nico a sense of satisfaction. After the humiliation Grace had put him through, it was good to know that he could control the Roman. If Jason was afraid of what Nico could do, then chances were low that Grace would blurt Nico's secret out. Still, regardless of how small the chances were, they were still _there_. And the mere fact that someone aside from himself knew this secret was ripping his heart out and squeezing his lungs until it was nearly impossible to breath at all. Nico had left Grace with that blabbermouth Valdez, who was to say that Grace wouldn't tell his best friend? Or worse yet, his _girlfriend_. Children of Aphrodite loved to meddle in these affairs. The most horrible scenario in Nico's mind was that Grace would decide to be 'helpful' and tell Percy. The mere thought made his heart nearly stop.

“Nico? Did you hear me?”, frowned Reyna curiously as she sat down next to him.

“I did”, grunted Nico with a short nod, turning his attention to the dead fireplace. “I don't need you to take over for me. Go back to sleep. I can manage.”

“I haven't seen you sleep at all so far”, noted Reyna with one raised eyebrow. “You need rest.”

“I need for us to finish this quest so we can return to the ship”, said Nico, gritting his teeth hard.

Reyna frowned as she took his appearance in. Ever since their little journey from the Argo II to the US had started, the Italian at least had started to gain weight again and even a little color. Being forced to be out in the sun didn't hurt, after all. Still, it worried Reyna that the child of the Underworld still kept to himself so much. He had done so during his times at Camp Jupiter, but later she had figured it may have been because of his Greek heritage. Now she was pretty sure it was just a general life choice. Folding her legs beneath her calves, she grabbed a stick to poke the last glowing piece of firewood and try bringing the fire back to life.

“Why are you doing this?”, asked the daughter of Bellona, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Doing what?”. grunted Nico, turning to glare at her.

His glare made her shudder, because it was not just angry, it held the rage of the underworld. Those eyes were so deep and dark that merely looking into them scared her a bit. There had always been an aura to the two children of the underworld, but Nico's was sometimes too intense to bear. As though he was carrying a burden too heavy for himself and he let others feel his pain.

“This quest”, was the simple reply. “Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Frank, Hazel, Leo and Piper are the Seven. I am doing this to bring peace to the Romans and the Greeks. But as far as I know, you couldn't care less about either camp, isn't that right? What motivates you to risk everything then?”

“None of your business.”

Reyna gave it a dry laugh. Figured he wouldn't empty his heart to her like that. Still, it intrigued her to know what was going on in his head. After Percy had reached camp and Nico's true heritage had been revealed, she had figured that waiting for Percy Jackson must have been what motivated him to return to Camp Jupiter over and over again. He had always looked as though he was searching for something. Someone, she supposed now. Percy and Nico were friends, yes. But there was something else going on, she could feel it in her gut.

“Wait. Where are you going?”, asked Reyna and blinked a couple times surprised.

“Sleeping”, grunted Nico, throwing a last annoyed glare at her. “Like you suggested. Night.”

Simple and short. Everything anyone ever got out of that boy, as far as Reyna could judge. Frowning curiously, she watched how Nico walked over to the giant statue to lay beside it. If the two of them – and the elderly faun with the nasty temper – would be stuck doing this quest for a longer period of time, then Reyna would get Nico to talk. Even if he'd kill her for it. Not that she had much to live for anyway. Dieing in this war would be honorable, she mused. Not dieing would mean to return to a camp full of Romans who probably saw her as a traitor, at best. At worst, they were all under Octavian's spell by now and killing Greeks left and right and her along with them. She had lost Jason to Piper and she had lost Skippy to... death. She had no idea where Hylla was at the moment and if the Amazons had to fight their own share of the war. She was an outcast now, had chosen to turn her back on the Romans to obey the wishes of a blonde Greek. Groaning exhausted, she ran her hands over her face and dug her nails into her scalp. For the first time in her life, she felt truly alone. In Circe's Spa, she had her sister and the other girls. In New Rome, there were the other Romans. But now? She had risked her life when she had spared Annabeth during the confrontation between the Romans and the Argo II. She had risked her position, her name and her reputation when she had sprang up to obey Annabeth's request. She had lost her most loyal friend when she had decided to take on the most dangerous journey possible. Everything in the name of... of what exactly? Cocking her head, Reyna turned to stare into the sky. Annabeth had intrigued her right from the start, it had been the reason why Reyna had wished to talk to her and not any other member of the crew back when the Argo II had landed in the Roman's home. But why?

 

/break\

 

“So... You think Leo met someone?” Frank's voice was a low, dark whisper.

Hazel blushed slightly as she leaned against his chest. She really appreciated that blessing of Mars. His voice was deeper, his posture prouder and his body stronger. Now, he looked like a proper Roman son of Mars. Like a praetor. A small, proud smile slid onto her lips at that. Her boyfriend, the praetor of Camp Jupiter. Frank nudged her to gain her attention. Shaking her head a couple of times, she turned to look him into the eyes.

“I don't know... I mean, _something_ must have happened on Calypso's island”, sighed Hazel with a slow shrug. “Something important. He barely fidgets anymore, he looks so sad... I don't think he met someone he loves. I think he realized something that broke his heart.”

“I don't know which option I dislike more...”, grunted Frank and frowned, staring straight ahead.

The couple was on watch duty, while Leo was on his favorite position – right next to Festus, steering the ship. Even his jokes and teasing had died down and as much as Frank thought he would appreciate that, as neglected did he feel now. Which was a weird thing to begin with.

“I don't want him to be like that...” Hazel tilted her head slightly as she looked over at Leo. “I like the carefree and happy Leo better. Do you think we can fix it somehow? I mean, I know it can be fixed somehow, but... do you... are you willing to fix it? I know you two don't get along well...”

“I came to the conclusion”, started Frank softly, but his voice grew firmer and more determined with every word. “That the Fates have made this decision for us. Ever since the Argo II landed here, the one demigod both of us spend most time with was Leo. May it be thrown overboard, locked into secret passages, or behind a collapsed tunnel. It's like the Fates themselves keep pushing him to us. Who are we to disobey them? Besides, it annoys me immensely that he's not paying attention to us anymore! That drives me more crazy than his stupid jokes.”

The upset frown on his face made Hazel smile softly as she leaned up to kiss her boyfriend tenderly. “I think you're right. The Fates have decided. Now we just need to follow their path.”

 

/break\

 

Piper was awesome. That was about the only positive thing – aside from saving Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus, but that went without saying – that Leo had to say about this journey so far. She had brought Festus to life. Real life. Not just the mechanical life only Leo understood. He was... warmer, somehow. It was hard to describe. But it was awesome. Smiling fondly at his mechanical friend, he patted the dragon's snout. Festus gave some clicks as reply, before turning his head slightly to indicate to the other two demigods on board. Leo froze some, only turning the slightest bit to look over at Frank and Hazel. The two Romans were being all cuddly again, kissing and making tender eye-contact and all. Wiggling his nose, Leo hastily turned away again.

By turning, he caught a climbs of the crystal. Something within Leo clenched in a painful way at the thought of Calypso. He _had_ to save her. She deserved to see the world and maybe find love somewhere. Not with Leo, which send another jolt of painful guilt through his being. At first, he had assumed that Calypso's curse was that the men she loved left the island. But the true curse was worse than that. The true curse was that none of these men returned her love. She was doomed to get her heart broken over and over again. And Leo would be only one more of these heartbreaking heroes. Still, he would keep his promise, because Calypso was his friend.

And Leo was not good at making friends. Six months at Camp Half-Blood and he still only had Jason and Piper, who probably wouldn't be his friends without Hera's fake memories as a push to begin with. Leo hadn't warmed up to Annabeth, the girl still scared him actually. He didn't have a chance with Percy, he guessed, because the most prominent thing about the son of Poseidon had been the glare he had given Leo after Leo had shot Camp Jupiter. Nico was  _not_ Leo's fault, the Latino was pretty sure it was impossible to worm his way into that boy's heart. And Frank and Hazel...? Aside from him constantly screwing up with them – looking like Sammy, making Frank jealous,  _insulting_ Frank on a constant base which didn't just make the big guy angry but also upset Hazel, carrying fire which was the one thing both avoided like nothing else – there was still that problem with his... feelings for them.  _Them_ had been the hardest realization of his life. Had hit him like a ton of bricks, actually. But as they had sat down in the mess hall together and his fingers had, without his consent, morsed  _I Love You_ to Frank during one of their oh so very rare normal conversations, he realized. Realized that teasing and insulting Frank was Leo's way of coping with being in love with Frank. Hazel had been a lost case right from the beginning. She was just too  _everything_ , too beautiful and kind and nice and compassionate and awesome. How could he not fall in love with her? He yelped as Festus tugged on his ear. The dragon gave some muffled sounds that translated to a simple 'Cheer up' in Leo's head, making the Latino smile a little.

 

/break\

 

The realization came slow like dawn, but it proved to be just as blinding as it fully emerged into Percy's consciousness. This, right now and right here, was harder than facing Tartarus. He was laying in his bed in his cabin, his eyes wide open as he stared at the ceiling. Every creek of the wood, every door somewhere that was being opened, the steps above, the engine below, the whistling of the winds outside, it was all too much. Every sound made him jump and want to fight. The movements in the darkness send panic through his being. Regardless of how often he told his brain that it was alright and that he was safe on board of the Argo II, that he wasn't in Tartarus anymore, his brain just couldn't compute. It was locked on panicked defense mode. But there was no danger. No living monster he could slay like in Tartarus, only the darkness and the fear that gripped his heart. He knew how to fight a monster, how to win a battle, but he had no idea how he was supposed to fight something that wasn't real, that wasn't there. The worst part was that he was _alone_. He had tried talking to Annabeth about it, but whenever he looked at her, he saw the ghoulish face, the faded ghost of her, he saw her covered in grime and blood and agony. Those images only lasted for split seconds before he realized that they laid in the past, that Annabeth right now was just regular, old Annabeth. Whenever he had tried in the past two days to talk to her, he just couldn't really express what he wanted. He didn't want to burden her with his pain too, because looking into her eyes, he knew she was feeling just the same amount of pain.

There was something else, a nagging feeling that just wouldn't leave him. Being with Annabeth was not how it was supposed to be. When they had held each other in Tartarus, every  _I Love You_ , it had felt like a gesture between siblings. They had outgrown their romantic feelings and evolved into each other's burdens, as harsh as it may sound. In Tartarus, they had felt responsible for each other, the need to protect each other. But that wasn't all. Their kisses didn't linger, when their fingers touched, it was fond but not loving. He was sixteen now, but he hadn't done more than kissing with his girlfriend and even those were rather chaste. He had started to realize that when they had returned to the Argo II and Percy had seen the way Hazel admired Frank's upgraded body. Those were looks that didn't pass between Percy and Annabeth. Never had. The first night they had spend together after Percy had been collected by the Argo II in New Rome, the two had just laid together and traded stories. No sex, not even making out. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind, at least not in an active manner. More in a panicked manner that she may want it. He wasn't ready for it, but shouldn't he be by now? He was nearly seventeen, Annabeth was already seventeen.

It was just another thing he wanted to talk to Annabeth about, but just like the topic Tartarus, their relationship seemed as impossible to approach. Heaving a sigh, Percy turned around to face the wall and curl himself together in a tight ball, hiding in the darkest shadows.

Darkness was good, in a weird way. The darker it was, the less he could see. In the light, every little movement looked like a threat, in the half-shadows even more so. But in the pitch-black darkness of the night, there was nothing to be suspicious about aside from the sounds. Darkness was safety.

Darkness was Nico. The thought made him blink a couple of times and forget to breath for a moment. Nico. Regardless of how much Percy tried, he just couldn't figure that boy out. There was only one thing Percy could be sure of when it came to Nico. Nico was his dark guardian angel.

Not just because of Bob, who had only aided them help because Nico had told him to. The way the others had told it, Nico had faced some kind of challenge so cruel that neither him nor Jason lost any word of it, only to get some weird scepter to control the dead so they would be able to reach the Doors of Death and help Percy and Annabeth out of Tartarus. The fact alone that Nico had taken responsibility to lead the others to the Doors, even though Nico normally hated to be in the spotlight. Annabeth had told Percy that Nico, Grover and Tyson had been the first three to leave and search the world for him after he had disappeared. His brother and his best friend, no surprises there. But Nico? He never stopped by at camp anyway, how had he even learned of Percy's disappearance? Why did he care enough to roam the world? Then there was the Titan War. When everybody had looked at Percy for protection, for safety, because he would be the Hero of Olympus. The  _only one_ to look out for Percy, for his safety and his protection, had been Nico, who had found the Curse of Achilles to keep Percy alive (and not just during the Titan War – Percy's journey from the Wolf House to Camp Jupiter would have ended bloody and bad without the curse too). And even though Percy had ended up in the dungeons of Hades back then, Nico had not abandoned him, no, he had rebelled against the Lord of Death, the one god practically no one would want to mess with, had risked everything by defying Hades' orders and freeing Percy again. It went back to the labyrinth even, when Nico had returned to them to help Percy just because Minos had said Percy would be in danger. Even though back then Bianca's death had still been fresh and raw in their minds, in Nico's more so than in any other and so must have been his hatred, but he still came.

“Nico...” Percy's voice was a whisper in the darkness. “When will I finally understand you...?”

When Percy had tried to say thank you two days ago, Nico had shrugged him off as though Percy had personally offended the Ghost King. And the way Nico had made it sound, Nico's deeds didn't weight anything compared to Percy's. Which was a ridiculous thing to say. Sure, Percy had saved Nico in Rome, but that had been a team effort and quest. And Percy had saved Nico from Geryon's farm, but compared to all the times Nico had been there for Percy, it really was insignificant.

Nico was his dark guardian angel, the only problem was that Percy couldn't understand him...

 

/break\

 

The ship felt empty and somehow eerily dead these days. Jason shuffled his feet as he entered the lower deck where the Athena statue had been for so long now. But its missing was not the only thing making the ship feel empty. The Roman would have never thought he'd live to see the day this would cross his mind, but he was missing Nico di Angelo. The son of Hades kept to himself and to the background, but that was what made him so important. He had been that constant presence in the back of their minds, the silent support during their quest to rescue Percy and Annabeth. Without him, they would have failed. Not just for his powers, but also because his determination was stronger than that of anyone else. Of course it was. Regardless of what Nico may think, love made people stronger. It also had made Nico stronger. Shadow-traveling eight people, even with the help of Hazel, and now three people and a giant statue. Nico was pushing his limits nearly effortlessly, all for Percy. And Percy had no idea. Jason had seen it in those sea-green eyes, the confusion and hurt when Nico had pushed him away verbally. Gritting his teeth, Jason kicked the air. He wanted Nico to be happy. The lonely child of the underworld deserved it more than most others. He earned it, after everything he had been through. And Jason would do his darn best to help Nico.


	2. Let's Confront

_Step 2: Let's Confront_

 

“You really don't look good, Annabeth”, noted Piper worried as she brought her blonde friend breakfast. “Have you slept at all since we... since... Have you slept at all?”

The daughter of Athena, curled together on her bed, lifted her head to look at Piper with dark bags beneath her eyes. “Not sure. My thoughts and the nightmares go hand in hand to make it hard seeing the line between them... I just... have so much on my mind...”

“For example...?”, prompted the daughter of Aphrodite and sat down next to her friend.

“Aside from Tartarus?”, snorted Annabeth darkly. “I... don't know if I should talk about it.”

“Try me. We're friends, right?”, smiled Piper softly, nudging the daughter of Athena. “You can't keep it bottled up inside. Why don't you at least talk to Percy about it? He's your boyfriend.”

“That's the problem”, frowned Annabeth, licking her lips nervously.

“How is that the problem?”, asked Piper confused. “Annabeth, what's wrong?”

“He is... drifting away from me...”, whispered the daughter of Athena equally confused. “When we were in Tartarus, I saw a side of him I never thought existed. A dark, murderous side. I... don't know where that darkness came from, but it frightened me. And I don't know if I can handle it. He had always been an open book to me. I always knew what he was thinking, because he was simple. Not simple like stupid, but simple like uncomplicated. Now I can't read him anymore and it scares me.”

“Well, going through Tartarus...”, started Piper, unsure how to phrase it.

“No”, interrupted Annabeth and shook her head. “It started before Tartarus. Maybe it's been the months he had been alone and away from me, from camp, from everything he knew. And... there is more. So much more that just adds together and...”

“What is it?”, asked Piper softly.

“I can't get her out of my head”, confessed Annabeth in such a low whisper that Piper barely caught it. “When we were in Tartarus, when we managed to send a note, the first person I had to think of was Reyna. I just... I trust her and I don't even understand why. I barely know her. But from the first time we talked in New Rome, I found myself trusting her. And it scares me too because it's so irrational. Percy and I, we shared life-changing adventures before I started to trust him, but Reyna? She just... needs to be there and I... I don't understand it. I hate not understanding something.”

“To me, that sounds like... love”, pointed Piper cautiously out.

“No”, denied Annabeth and shook her head violently. “Love is... love is what I saw in Percy's eyes when we were in Tartarus and Bob told us that Nico had send him.”

“I have no idea who Bob is, but what does it have to do with Nico?”, asked Piper curiously.

“I think... Percy loves Nico. But I don't think he knows it yet”, whispered Annabeth, scratching the back of her head. “Percy and I have been drifting apart since our underwater kiss, which is ridiculous that was when we got together. But I think... we never worked. We work as friends, as team, as comrades in battle. But not as lovers. We have never done more than kissing. And not even our kisses hold the passion they should. Kissing him should make me feel hot and nervous and giddy and not like it does. When I think of Percy, I feel as though I'm thinking of my little brother. But when I think of Reyna... her tanned skin and dark eyes and her _curves_... I get all tingly...”

“Tingly?”, giggled Piper amused. “That is cute.”

Annabeth blushed and glared. “I've never thought about someone in that way before.”

“In a sexual way?”, supplied Piper helpfully. “Well, then maybe it's sexual attraction?”

“She's... level-headed and calm and thoughtful. I feel as though she understands me, what I do and why I do it. While with Percy and his short attention-span and his need to act instead of thinking things through, I often feel like talking to an untrained puppy”, huffed Annabeth frustrated.

“So it's a crush then”, nodded the daughter of Aphrodite thoughtful. “But if you say you're having... feelings for Reyna and you think that Percy has feelings for Nico, wouldn't it be fair to both of you if you'd break up with Percy? Maybe he needs a push to realize. Don't you two deserve happiness? Don't you want a chance to at least try with Reyna and see where that's going? Or are you afraid?”

“We're talking Greek and Roman mythology, I'm not afraid of being bisexual”, replied Annabeth and shook her head. “No. I think... I don't want to lose Percy. Not as a boyfriend, but as a friend. Bob, he's a friend of Percy, or at least he was. But our relationship took so much of Percy's time that he neglected his other friends, even nearly forgot about them. Bob, Calypso... I... I don't want to be forgotten. Even if I'm not in love with him anymore, I still love him. I can't lose him, especially not after everything we've been through. I know I'm being selfish, but I don't want him to spend all his time with Nico and forget me like he forgot about Bob...”

“You really need to explain to me who Bob is later”, chuckled Piper intrigued. “But for now, I think you really should talk to Percy. You owe him that much truth and you owe it to yourself.”

 

/break\

 

“Hey, Percy. How are you—holy Jupiter, you look horrible!”

Percy turned to glare at the son of Jupiter annoyed. “Thank you, Jason. Just what I needed to hear.”

“Sorry”, grinned the blonde sheepishly, ruffling his own hair. “I just... Are you trying to imitate Nico? Because you're doing a really good job there with the dark circles under your eyes and that kind of dead aura you have going on there. And have you eaten at all since we took off?”

“It's not... that bad”, frowned Percy and walked over to a mirror. “Shit. It is. Just great.”

“You... want to come with me and catch breakfast?”, suggested Jason.

“I'm not hungry”, sighed Percy and shook his head.

The truth was, he was hungry, but everything he ate tasted like the fire water of Tartarus. He had forced it down on that first celebration meal they had, before Nico, Reyna and the coach had left, but the taste just wouldn't leave his mouth. And he couldn't sleep. Now he understood why Nico had looked so miserable when they had freed him from Rome. Tartarus had eaten the son of Hades up, what was it going to do to Percy and Annabeth...?

“Have you... talked to Nico before they left?”, asked Jason, trying to sound casual and failing at it.

“Uh... I tried, but he...”, started Percy, adapting the look of a kicked puppy. “He brushed me off.”

“He's been through a lot”, shrugged the blonde, turning away from Percy.

“Yeah. I've heard as much, but no one seems to know what exactly because you and Nico don't lose a single word about it”, accused Percy with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Why do you care?”, shrugged Jason. “It's none of your business, it's Nico's.”

“That makes it my business!”, exclaimed Percy annoyed. “I just... He hasn't shunned me like that since Bianca died. I don't get it, but I want to. So explain it to me.”

“I can't. Sorry”, sighed Jason. “I _promised_.”

“Yeah well, Nico won't tell me either”, sighed the son of Poseidon and sat back down.

“You really care for him, don't you?”, whispered the blonde softly.

“Of course I do”, huffed Percy annoyed. “We're friends, he's always watching my back.”

Jason bit his lips hard to keep from laughing. Yeah, he knew exactly which part of Percy's backside Nico enjoyed watching the most. Shaking his head, he tried to concentrate on the mopey Sea Prince.

“When we were where we were and did what we did”, started Jason slowly, wincing at his own phrasing. “We faced this dude. Dude who's been challenging Apollo over guy both loved. I was kind of surprised at first, I mean I don't know, he was being so casual about it. But then I started thinking about it and remembered the _tons_ of affairs the gods have, regardless of with who.”

“Is there... is there a point to this or do you just enjoy the sound of your voice?”

“The point is”, grunted Jason and rolled his eyes. “I just... Nico and me facing this guy made realize something strange. Back in the old days, homosexuality was even part of the religion, but then over the centuries it got hated so much that during Nico's time, homosexuals were literally carted away. And now we're fighting for equality again. I just... don't understand how the human view can change that much. It made me wonder how Nico and Hazel both must feel, being here, in a time that has such a different world view than their own, you know?”

“I hear you talk, but I don't understand a word”, frowned Percy confused. “Are you trying to tell me that you're gay and that you're afraid that Hazel and Nico would bash you for it?”

“What?”, blinked Jason stunned, staring at Percy like a deer in the headlights. “What?”

“Oh gods, you are!”, gasped Percy equally wide-eyed. “Wait. Are you hitting on me? Because, I mean I like blondes and I feel honored, but-”

“No. No, no, no”, huffed Jason and shook his head violently. “I am not gay and I am not hitting on you, Jackson. Fuck, your mind is a weird place. You manage to aim right past the target, damn it.” Sighing frustrated, Jason was short of giving up when a thought crossed his mind. “I'm not gay and I'm not hitting on you, but... how would you handle it? A guy-friend hitting on you?”

“I am going to believe that you're crushing on me until I find a valid reason for this conversation”, muttered Percy and shook his head. “I don't... What does it matter if it's a boy or a girl? As long as I don't return the feelings, I'll try to let them down easy.”

“But what if you return the feelings? I mean, would you hypothetically speaking return the feelings of a _boy_? Let's ignore Annabeth and all for a second and just imagine it. Could you?”

“Are you asking me if I'm gay?”, asked Percy and cocked his head. “Because I really don't like labels. Like I said, what does it matter if it's a boy or a girl. I think the heart loves a soul and not a body, okay? So yeah, I guess, maybe. I don't know. Depends. But I don't love you, okay? I like you as a friend and I feel honored to fight at your side, but I think... you should talk to Piper.”

“I am not gay and I am not in love with you, Percy Jackson!”, exclaimed Jason frustrated.

“That is so good to hear, Jason.”

The blonde stiffened as he turned around to see his girlfriend and Percy's girlfriend standing in the doorway. Piper gave him a curious and questioning look. Making a very embarrassed face, Jason walked up to the two girls just as Annabeth headed over to Percy.

“Come on. You can explain to me in great detail why you just declared your not-love and not-gayness to Percy”, chuckled Piper and took his hand to lead him away from the cabin.

The door closed and Annabeth and Percy were alone. Alone for the first time since they had come back to the Argo II. Percy shifted a little uncomfortable under Annabeth's intense stare.

“Well, you and Jason had... fun?”, smiled Annabeth a little teasingly.

“I'm not a hundred percent sure what he wanted”, shrugged Percy, completely lost. “Uh... What is it you want? I mean... What do you want to talk about? You have that expression going on.”

“I... think we need to talk, Seaweed Brain”, whispered the daughter of Athena in guilt.

“What did I do?”, asked Percy slightly panicked.

“Nothing”, smiled Annabeth soothingly, grabbing his hands. “I just... feel that I owe you a truth.”

“W—What truth?”, frowned the Sea Prince, staring down at their joined hands.

“I love you, Percy. And I will always love you”, started the blonde slowly. “But... I'm not in love with you anymore. I think I have... feelings for someone else. A—And I owe you and me that much truth that... I think we should... break up, Percy. I'm sorry, I hope you don't take it bad and I really hope that you and I can still be friends, because you will always be the most important person in my life. You're my best friend, Percy. I don't want to lose you, but I think both of us should be... free.”

Relief filled Percy's heart as he sank down more in his seat. It seemed one of his biggest fears had just left him. The way Annabeth looked at him... He knew she was still his Annabeth, she would always be. She would always be there for him. Smiling slightly, he pulled her in a hug.

“I... Yeah. I think that's the best for both of us”, nodded Percy softly. “I... I've been thinking about how to approach this topic with you for a while now. I love you too, Annabeth, but not like that.”

Smiling slightly, Annabeth rubbed her face against his arm, enjoying that they were close again. She had been avoiding him in worries about her feelings and now she felt guilty for it, After everything both of them had been through, they needed to be able to rely on each other. Percy wrapped his one arm around Annabeth's waist, resting his head against hers.

 

/break\

 

Frank and Hazel stood inside the fire-red sleeping quarter of the son of Hephaestus, but it was vacant. Rubbing the back of his neck, Frank looked around once more, tilting his head confused. He didn't understand why he was even that concerned for the Latino, but somehow the aloof and cheeky Greek was so different from everything Frank had seen in Camp Jupiter. And even though he was scarcely serious, Leo was still ready to sacrifice so much for his friends. Even after the way Frank had acted around him. Not just what Leo had done in Rome, but also that the first thing the Latino had thought of when he had returned from that blasted island was building something fireproof for Frank's life-stick. And Leo was _cute_. Which was making this even harder.

“Where is he?”, asked the Canadian with a frown.

“I have no idea”, sighed Hazel with a shrug.

“Are you guys looking for Leo?”, asked a voice from behind them.

The couple jumped slightly in surprise. Turning around, they came face to face with Piper and Jason. The daughter of Aphrodite smiled amused as she studied their expressions.

“Uh, yes. We wanted to... talk to him”, nodded Hazel slowly.

“He's in the engine room”, explained Jason, running his hands through his hair. “He's been sleeping there since we left Rome. I think he feels saver when he's close to the machines or something...”

“Yes, yes. Now come, you still owe me an explanation. Why are you gay for Percy?”

“I'm not! I told you”, hissed the son of Jupiter embarrassed. “It's a misunderstanding, okay?”

Hazel frowned curiously as she watched the couple leave. Grabbing Frank's hand determined, she led her boyfriend toward the engine room. It was unsettling that for Leo, safety meant to be with the machines and not with his friends. Not even Piper and Jason. How hurt was the Latino to rather seek mechanical comfort than human comfort...? The engine room was dark when they entered and empty. Not completely, but compared to what it had been when their journey from Rome had started. Somehow it looked vacant without the giant statue. And it made Leo look so much smaller, laying curled together in a corner beneath a blanket.

“Leo?”, whispered Hazel softly as she approached him.

The Latino stirred and yawned, looking wide-eyed up at them. “Mh...? Danger?”

“No, no danger”, smiled the daughter of Pluto and shook her head, extending a hand to caress the soft, dark curls. “We wanted to talk to you, Leo. You're clearly upset and you have something important on your mind. You're not behaving like yourself. That may cost you much, considering the battle we are about to face. We want to know if... if you're alright.”

“I'll not get distracted during the next big fight. I can focus”, muttered Leo and sat up.

“It's not about if you're able to function in battle, it's about whether or not you're alright”, corrected Frank with a frown. “We're concerned for you, okay? You're not even making stupid jokes.”

“I'm... fine...”, sighed the son of Hephaestus, running his fingers through his hair.

“You're not. What happened when you were on that island?”, asked Hazel softly, yet urgently.

“I... Calypso...”, started Leo reluctantly, focusing on his hands in his lap. “You know her story?”

“She's stuck on an island and can't leave?”, supplied Frank a little confused.

“And the gods send her heroes... to break her heart”, sighed the Latino upset. “She helps them, for they are just as stuck as she is, until she inevitably falls in love with them. Once she does, magic allows the heroes to leave again, giving them the chance to decide whether they return her feelings and want to stay with her, or if they want to return to their regular lives.”

It took a moment for the couple to realize what Leo had just said. “Oh... So you... broke her heart?”

“I... guess...”, shrugged Leo a little confused. “I mean, I don't understand it, not really. No girl has ever been interested in me. Much less in love with me. But I wanted and needed to return to you. Uh, you know, the Argo II and the rest of our crew and our quest. I left her there, just like everybody else before me did. But... she's my friend and she... loves me and she stole my first kiss.”

“She did what?”, blinked Hazel stunned.

“Make it sound like a miracle that someone would kiss me, why don't you?”, frowned Leo.

The daughter of Pluto winced internally. She wasn't surprised that someone would kiss Leo, she was stunned that this girl had dared to take Leo's first kiss, which should belong to Hazel or Frank. How could she? Leo should be theirs. He always knew how to lighten the mood when it grew too heavy and Frank and Hazel really had some heavy mood going of most of the times, what with their family pasts. They needed Leo's charming, light attitude and his amazing smile.

“You know, you should head to bed for sleep and not stay in here”, noted Hazel, changing the topic with a disapproving glare at the makeshift bed. “Why are you sleeping down here?”

“I feel... better when I'm close to machines”, shrugged the Latino a little awkwardly. “I guess I'm just not used to sleeping alone.”

“Didn't you just say Calypso was your first kiss? How have you never slept alone?”, asked Frank.

“N—Not like that!”, hissed Leo and blushed brightly. “I just mean that... at camp, I share a cabin with my siblings, before we got to camp, I was at a boarding school where I had a roommate too and back in the foster homes I actually never had a room all to myself either. It's weirdly empty and silent to sleep all alone in a bedroom. Haven't done that since my... mother... Well, it's been long.”

“You still should sleep in a bed”, noted Frank with a nod of his head.

“Yeah, yeah”, nodded Leo and stood to follow them.

Still, something told Hazel that he would be sneaking out to the engine room to sleep the next night too. The only way to keep him in a bed would probably be to tie him to it. Wrong train of thoughts. Glaring slightly, she shook her head. Not an appropriate thing to think right now.

 

/break\

 

Reyna sat at the foot of the statue, playing with a little flower that was growing next to her. The satyr had taken off to have a bit of privacy to talk to his nymph girlfriend, leaving a sleeping Nico and a giant statue in Reyna's care. The son of Hades was at least asleep, that was hard enough as it was. But even someone as stubborn as Nico di Angelo had to succumb to sleep at some point.

“Per... cy...”, groaned Nico in his sleep, turning onto his back, a frown on his face.

Blinking a couple of times surprised, Reyna stared down at the sleeping Greek. That explained why Nico refused to sleep. He was talking in his sleep. Talking about _Percy_. She had known that there was something, she just wouldn't have figured it to be that. Then again, remembering the looks Nico had given Annabeth, she felt reminded of the way she had looked at Piper at first. Raw, furious jealousy. Unadulterated and unreasonable hatred for someone who had taken that one person away from them. Her eyes softened as she looked at Nico. He hadn't just followed Percy out of loyal friendship, but out of love. A love that was probably as doomed as Reyna's own. Not the one for Jason, she had seen reason and given up on the blonde. He wasn't the boy she had fallen in love for anymore. He had become a soft Greek. She wanted a strong blonde with a backbone. She wanted... Annabeth. The impossible girl, the daughter of Athena, a goddess of war that didn't have Roman children, one who was so different in her two aspects, more so than any other god or goddess. She was an enigma, but the best kind. She was different, untamed, clever and a leader.

“You should sleep too. Let me watch.”

The sudden voice startled her, making her turn toward the previously asleep son of Hades. He looked grumpy and tired, but still way more well-rested than when their journey had started.

“I came along to aid you protection”, pointed Reyna out. “You need to rest.”

“I've rested enough”, grunted Nico with a glare, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“And you don't need protection, yes, we've been through this routine every day now”, nodded the daughter of Bellona slightly annoyed. “Our quest relies on your physical ability to shadow-travel all of us. If you're too sleepy to do so, we will fail. Or take longer. A pending war between Romans and Greeks that can only be stopped by us is more important than your ego, Nico di Angelo.”

Nico gritted his teeth and averted his eyes. He knew that she was right, but he hated to feel weak and vulnerable like that, having to rely on someone else's help. Being caught in Rome had been horrible enough for him. And now having to rely on Jason Grace to keep his secret and on Reyna to keep him alive when he was sleeping? He also  _hated_ that he wasn't close to Percy to make sure that the son of Poseidon was alright, after the boy had been through Tartarus. Nico had always hated when he was unable to watch over Percy. What he had said to Grace had not been true. It wasn't a crush and he hadn't outgrown it. But the look of pity in Jason's eyes had told him that Jason knew. And that was the hardest part. Someone else aside from him knew of his love for Percy Jackson.

“I'm aware of that. It's just not very easy to change your behavior in such a radical manner.”

“The sooner we get this done with, the sooner we can return to the Argo II”, pointed Reyna out.

“I don't care about returning to the ship”, spat Nico irritated.

“Not about the ship maybe, but... about Percy, certainly”, hummed Reyna cautiously.

“I have no idea what you're talking about”, growled the son of Hades darkly.

“I've seen it in the way you looked at Annabeth in a jealousy I remember from my own reflexion”, whispered Reyna wistfully. “You love him. You love Percy Jackson. But he doesn't know.”

“Stop talking if you value your life”, advised Nico, his voice low and dangerous.

Reyna lifted her hands in surrender, a small smile playing on her lips as she stood. “You obviously don't want to talk about it. I'm not a girl for sitting together and exchanging stories of broken hearts either. But I know how it feels to watch the one you love with someone else. I learned that giving up is not an option. If I had given up, I wouldn't be here now. I outgrew my crush on Jason and became the woman I am today. Maybe... that would be for the best for you too. Alas, your feelings for Percy run deeper. Then, by all means,  _fight_ and do never give up.”

Great, now he was getting love advice from a daughter of war? How far had he sunken, really? Now there were two people who knew of his feelings for Percy. Wonderful. Two Romans, at that. Just great. The unsettling thing was that... both seemed not the least bit phased that Nico was... was  _gay_ . He was aware of the theory of this time. Theoretically speaking, all people were equal. But the thing with theories was that they first needed to be proven right. And so far, society was not going a good job with that. He had shadow-traveled all over the world. And yes, he had seen places where homosexual couples were accepted, even got married and lived normal, regular lives. But in other parts of the world it was still the same. Gays were still carted off, killed for what they were feeling.

Greeks and Romans were different somehow, yes. Their family tree was prone for all kinds of affairs, to them the gender had never mattered. Heck, not even the  _species_ had really mattered.

Still, knowing Jason and Reyna didn't mind and knowing that per definition their camps shouldn't mind either, didn't help much easing Nico's mind. He had been an outcast by legacy too, after all. He doubted a come out would change that to the better. Percy would probably say that he was being an outcast by choice, because the others would accept him if he'd try. Then again, Percy was the overly optimistic and slightly naive goody.  _He_ could make anyone accept him. Nico was different. If Nico had Percy, then yes, then maybe he could try being accepted. With Percy at his side, it would be worth trying. But he didn't have Percy and he would never have him, so what's the point?


	3. Let's Conduct

_Step 3: Let's Conduct_

 

Nico was breathless, irritated and exhausted. They had finally reached their destination. Camp Half-Blood. The place Percy considered home. The place that meant nothing to Nico though. He glared distasteful at the Hades cabin. It was only another symbol for him to see what an outcast he was. One of the Big Three, amidst the minor gods as though he was unimportant. It was only thanks to Percy that Hades had a cabin at all. How could all his thoughts end with Percy? It was irritating.

He had left Reyna and the coach to talk strategy and calm Romans and Greeks. They were currently discussing with Chiron, Rachel, Octavian and Clarisse. Nothing Nico wanted to participate in. The excuse of his exhaustion after bringing everyone here had been reasonable enough to the parties involved and they had gladly excused him. May they quarrel for the next couple of hours, he didn't need to listen to that. The question that remained was where he was to rest now though.

The Hades cabin was out of question, as just explained. And somehow, Nico's feet carried him over to the blue cabin that smelt of the sea. Standing in front of the Poseidon cabin, he took a look around to make sure no one saw him before he sneaked in. It was empty. Of course it was empty. But it smelt like Percy and when Nico looked around, he saw the ghosts of past encounters here. Figuratively, of course. Gladly enough, there were no ghosts in the cabin. Yawning exhausted, he collapsed face-first on what he knew was Percy's bed. With closed eyes, he could smell his Sea Prince on the sheets. As hard as falling asleep normally was for him, surrounded by Percy's unique scent of the salty sea, cookies and laughter (if laughter had a smell, it would smell like Percy), he found himself soon drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

 

/break\

 

Frank rubbed his neck, grimacing at the pain. He had a perfectly fine bed standing in his room. His girlfriend had a perfectly fine bed standing in her room. And he could be laying in either of them. But ever since they had found Leo in the engine room yesterday, Hazel was worried. She had asked him to check if Leo had sneaked out of his room again. It wasn't just that Frank couldn't disobey those big, golden eyes, no, he worried about the Latino too. So he had gone and checked. Just to find Leo curled together on his makeshift bed once more. This time, without Hazel, he hadn't even bothered waking the Latino. He was well aware that the last night, after Frank and Hazel had accompanied him to his quarters, Leo had most likely gone back to the engine room too. So this time, he had wanted to make sure. Scooping Leo up in his arms had been surprisingly easy. May it be because he was now stronger, or because the boy was light-weighted, but Frank easily managed to carry the Latino back to his cabin. Now he was keeping watch over the son of Hephaestus. To make sure that, if Leo woke up again, he wouldn't run off once more. The downside of this plan however was that Frank had dozed off in Leo's chair and now his neck hurt like a bitch.

“Frank? Frank, are you here?”, whispered a soft, curious voice as the door opened.

Frank turned, as much as his aching neck allowed it, to look at Hazel. The daughter of Pluto slipped into the room, curiously looking from the peacefully sleeping Latino to the cranky son of Mars. In the end, she sat down at the edge of Leo's bed. The otherwise so hyperactive Latino, who seemed to be physically unable to sit still, was looking so surprisingly peaceful and content that she needed to check his pulse, just to make sure. The way he leaned into her touch was already answer enough though. Smiling softly, she let her hand linger on Leo's neck.

“He's so beautiful...”, whispered Hazel, the longing obvious in her voice. “Why were we being so naive when we first met? If we hadn't chased him away like that, his first kiss would have been ours. But now we're having a heartbroken and lonely firebug at our hands, without any clue on how to fix him again. I just... want him to be happy, especially now that he's so sad...”

“I know”, murmured Frank softly as he stood to walk over to her. “I know...”

Sitting down next to Hazel, he wrapped one arm around her waist and rested the other on Leo's hip. The Latino hummed in his sleep contently as he subconsciously scooted closer to them until his head was resting in Hazel's lap. Her fingers ran through the dark curls, tenderly caressing them.

“That's it”, declared Hazel softly, yet determined. “When he wakes up, we'll make him ours.”

“Okay”, nodded the son of Mars slowly. “How?”

“I'm... not sure yet...”, frowned the Roman girl thoughtful. “We'll see...”

“Mh... who's talking? Why are you talking? I want to sleep...”, mumbled a sleepy voice between them, the Latino burying his face in his hands. “Shut up...”

“Sorry. We didn't mean to wake you”, apologized Hazel in a soft voice.

It seemed to seep through to Leo's mind who was in his room and had woken him, because he hastily sat up and stared at them with wide, surprised eyes, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Hazel had to smile at that amused, resting one hand on his shoulder.

“W—What are you two doing here? In my _bed_? Wait. What am I doing here? I don't remember going to bed...? What is happening here?”, frowned Leo completely confused.

“You haven't gone to bed”, nodded Frank with a disapproving glare. “I found you in the engine room. And then I brought you to your room. We told you that you shouldn't be sleeping down there. You can't catch a proper rest on the floor. You need to use a bed.”

“I told you...”, sighed Leo, a little frustrated, and ran his hands through his hair. “I can't sleep in here. It's so... so silent and lonely. In the engine room, I at least have the engine and Festus.”

“You could join me and Hazel, you wouldn't be lonely and it wouldn't be silent either.”

“That was the subtle and sensible thing to say”, snorted Hazel and hit his upper arm.

“J—Join you?”, frowned Leo confused. “Like roommates...? That'll be a tight spot though...”

“Not... like roommates”, replied Hazel and shook her head slowly. “Join us in our relationship.”

That was the information Leo's brain needed to completely shut down. Or at least it seemed that way because he stopped moving at all and to Frank, it even looked as though he had stopped breathing. Tilting his head, the Canadian waved one hand in front of his face.

“I think we broke him...”, commented the son of Mars worried.

“Leo”, started Hazel in a firm voice, gripping the Latino's face to make him look at her. “There is something you didn't mention about Calypso. You said the heroes that leave her break her heart. You forgot to mention that they leave because their hearts belong to someone else. All the heroes that left her had someone waiting for them. Now tell me, who did you want to return to?”

“I—I...”, started the son of Hephaestus, frowning at them distrustful.

“You don't need to be afraid”, whispered Hazel softly, caressing his cheek. “We like you. A lot.”

“Which is a total understatement”, added Frank, openly checking Leo out.

Feeling Frank's eyes on his body like that made Leo blush embarrassed. “I... like you?”

His heart was speeding up in a nearly panic-attack. He shouldn't have done this, he shouldn't have confessed just like that. But he hadn't slept properly since he had left Calypso's island, every night was haunted with nightmares of him turning just into another one of those heroes that forgot about her, fearing he would fail his friend, fearing the oath would be kept with a final breath and he would die during this war. All those thoughts of fear and panic suddenly vanished from his mind, left him pleasantly numb as he felt soft lips being pressed against his. It was different than kissing Calypso. Hazel was more demanding, her hand in his neck kept him in place. She also tasted different, so much better and the way her lips moved against his send waves of pleasure and want through his body. Gasping surprised, Leo arched into the kiss, wanting more.

“Then it's decided”, whispered Hazel against his lips as they parted breathlessly. “You're ours.”

“Well, then share, Haze”, huffed Frank and grabbed Leo around the waist to turn him. “Mine too.”

“Don't pout”, laughed the daughter of Pluto and leaned back to enjoy the show.

Licking her lips, she watched the way her delicate Latino was leaning against her tall and strong praetor, the way Frank's broad hands looked on the slim waist, the contrast between their skin as the flushed son of Hephaestus submitted to the kiss. This was turning her on more than it should.

“Mine too”, whispered Frank as the two boys parted, his lips trailing down to Leo's neck.

“O—Okay”, nodded the Greek, obviously completely overwhelmed by the situation. “Yes.”

“Good boy”, chuckled Hazel amused and kissed his nose.

 

/break\

 

“Nico. Nico, come on. Time to wake up.”

Nico growled annoyed, swatting at the hand that kept poking his cheek. If Reyna wanted to die a painful and slow death, she was on the right path here. Opening his eyes, he glared up at the daughter of Bellona. All the cold Roman gave him was a calculating glance back.

“I thought you might want to hear the news”, started Reyna and sat down next to Nico. “We agreed. More or less. Not even Octavian could argue much any longer. Romans are eager to fight in this war too and not to stand on the sidelines or waste time fighting the Greeks. We are joining forces and we will be on our way to Athens soon. Clarisse is preparing everyone for war.”

“Good, wonderful. Can I go back to sleep now?”, growled Nico annoyed.

“No”, huffed Reyna equally annoyed. “The two of us will head back to the Argo II to tell the others. Clarisse seems quite capable of leading the Greeks into the war. And I want to... before we start this, I want to go back to the Argo II once more, see them maybe a last time... So you will take me with you when you return to the ship. Two people is less than two people, a goat and a statue. After everything you did in the past days, you can take me with you there. We can tell them together and then you can drop me off here again before they will be marching into war.”

“You make it sound as though I care. As though I will be returning to that ship”, snorted Nico and gave up on sleep, instead sitting up. “What makes you so sure of that?”

“Because, and I know you don't want to face this, you love Percy Jackson. You won't just leave for the underworld and let him face this alone. I've seen it in your eyes, because as good as you are at covering it up, your eyes can't lie. The way you looked at me when I confronted you. Now?”

Gritting his teeth, Nico stood up. “Fine. But before we leave, I need a shower. And a change of clothes. And actually, so do you. We both reek of goat.”

Reyna laughed slightly at that. They had traveled for days, without much time or opportunity to get showered. If she would return to see Annabeth once more, she didn't want to smell like old cheese.

 

/break\

 

Percy found himself sitting in the mess hall, every bone in his body aching. Yesterday, Piper had run around the ship, screaming like a maniac. The statue had appeared on the screens. The whole crew had gathered in front of the screen, watching for an hour, catching images of Nico, Reyna and the coach every once in a while. But Nico only for a short moment. He had headed off, away from the others. And since then, he had disappeared. When the others had returned to their quarters to sleep, or to just do something else aside from staring hopefully at the screen, Percy had remained. Why had Nico left Reyna, the coach and Clarisse alone? Where had he gone to? Did he leave? For good? Nico had been so hostile when they had parted. Was this it? Nico fulfilled the rest of the deal, helped them some more and then just left again? Fear was clawing at his mind. He didn't want to face this without Nico. He didn't want for the son of Hades to disappear again. So he kept sitting there, staring at the screen and praying that Nico would just walk through camp once more.

“Percy? Are you still sitting here?”, asked Jason worried as he entered. “You need to sleep.”

“I'm not tired”, huffed Percy, his eyes fixed on the screen.

“Percy. We're worried for you”, sighed the son of Jupiter and approached Percy, sitting down next to the Greek. “You and Annabeth have changed since you returned to us. You're both losing weight, you're both more tired and you're both more drawn back. But Annabeth at least confides in Piper. You need to talk to someone too, Percy. I get the two of us aren't the closest. But can't you at least talk to... Frank and Hazel? The three of you are closer, you know them better than us others, well aside from Annabeth. But I don't think that you two talking it out would do much...”

“No offense, but... Frank and Hazel are a little too busy since yesterday morning”, hummed Percy.

“Busy?”, frowned Jason completely confused, cocking his head.

“With making out with Leo”, nodded the son of Poseidon slowly, pulling his legs up against his chest. “You can't tell me you haven't noticed the hickeys all over Leo and the way at least one of them is constantly touching Leo in some kind of way. They like just got together.”

“Frank... Hazel... and... Leo...?”, muttered Jason slowly and stunned.

“Well”, smiled Percy and patted Jason's back. “See, one less fear for you. I doubt Hazel will reject who you are now, what with her boyfriend having a boyfriend.”

“Who I am?”, frowned Jason, his mind still busy repeating every interaction he had seen between the trio since the last morning. “What do I have to do with anything?”

“Well, you said you're afraid Nico and Hazel will reject that you're gay”, said Percy softly, resting his hand on Jason's shoulder. “See, that fear was uncalled for.”

“For fuck's sake, Percy”, groaned the Roman annoyed. “I've been telling you for two days now, I am not gay. And I am especially not gay for you! Damn it!”

“I understand”, smiled Percy softly. “You need to grow more comfortable with who you are before you can admit it to anyone else. I'm still very proud of you that you confronted me.”

“What is so hard about that part that I don't love you?”, grunted Jason frustrated. “I'm not coming onto you, okay, Percy? I'm not hitting on you! I'm not even gay. I never kissed a boy, don't want to.”

“With your beard, yes”, nodded Percy a little amused. “Come on, Jason. I'm not an idiot. You've been shadowing me ever since Annabeth and I returned to the ship. You're like everywhere I am. You constantly drop by at my cabin to check on me, you're making more of an effort than the rest of the crew together. Not that I blame them, I'm quite glad they're laying off me. What reason could you possibly have to stalk me like that all of a sudden if not for a crush?”

Jason remained silent and glared at Percy. This was futile. And somehow, Percy was right. He was behaving suspiciously and he couldn't tell Percy the truth. That Jason tried to be a good friend for Nico and tried to be there for Percy and protect him until the son of Hades would be back. Because then Jason would have to spill Nico's secret and he would never to this.

“Wait, you never even kissed a boy?”, asked Percy surprised – and why was he so close now?

 

/break\

 

Nico rubbed his neck with an annoyed glare attached to his face. When him and Reyna had landed on deck of the Argo II, Piper had screamed in surprise at first. And then she had hugged them – both of them, which was not appreciated by Nico – and just send Reyna off to go and talk to Annabeth about 'something urgent'. The daughter of Aphrodite had left to gather the rest of the crew and told Nico to go to the mess hall already and wait there for them. Pulling on the collar of the blue shirt he had borrowed from Percy (after showering and noticing that he had no own clothes there), he opened the door to the mess hall. Just to freeze and stare. Within a second, he had Jason grabbed by the neck and tried not to break it in his fury as he pulled the blonde off of Percy's lips. Pressing the blonde against the wall, he locked eyes with electric blue ones, promising the other pain and death.


	4. Let's Control

_Step 4: Let's Control_

 

“Hello, Annabeth.”

The sudden voice startled Annabeth. Wide, storm-gray eyes turned to look at the beautiful Roman. Worry filled Reyna's dark eyes as she stepped up to Annabeth's bed and sat down next to her.

“You look worse than Nico”, frowned Reyna concerned. “What happened while I was gone?”

“Nothing”, mumbled Annabeth and shook her head. “I'm just... exhausted... haunted by nightmares? Hungry, tired and kind of... dead on my feet... Yeah, that sums it up nicely.”

“I wished to discuss something important with you, but... you don't look ready for serious conversation”, murmured Reyna thoughtful, straightening her robes. “Let's delay this.”

“No”, interrupted Annabeth and grabbed Reyna's hand to keep her there. “Just... Talk to me. Maybe it'll distract me from all the thoughts I'm having. Please? I could use the distraction, really.”

“A distraction, mh?”, hummed Reyna and looked at her thoughtful. “I... would like to be more.”

“M—More?”, asked the Greek girl, highly confused.

“Let me be frank with you, because I've never been one to beat around the bush”, started the daughter of Bellona and looked straight into those mesmerizing, storm-gray eyes. “I like you. More than is healthy, because I've been ready to do many ridiculous things only for your sake since this war started. You... captivated me. You hold my attention. I... desire you.”

“You... desire me?”, choked Annabeth out, her eyes wide and filled with surprise.

“I find it hard not to”, chuckled Reyna, letting her eyes roam Annabeth's body.

The blonde blushed furiously as she noticed that and averted her own eyes. “I—I... don't know.”

“That is not a satisfying answer”, countered Reyna, cocking one eyebrow. “I've been rejected before. Plenty of times, actually. The least you can do is being honest with me too, just as I am being honest with you. Don't give me such an answer, just... say it, okay.”

“No!”, rushed Annabeth out and shook her head. “I don't want to reject you! I mean... I just... I don't know if now is a good time to... have such feelings...”

“Because of Percy?”, whispered Reyna hollowly, already having feared just that.

“No. Percy and I, we... broke up”, confessed Annabeth. “No, because of the war.”

“Annabeth”, smiled Reyna kindly, taking Annabeth's hands into her own. “The war is all the more reason to stay true to my feelings for me. If I am to die tomorrow, or any other following say to save my people from Gaia, then I will gladly die for a greater cause. But if I am to die, then I want to at least know how your lips taste and how your body feels pressed against mine.”

 

/break\

 

“Nico!”, screamed Percy at the top of his lunges, staring aghast at the Stygian-iron sword pressed against Jason's throat. “What are you doing?! Stop it! You can't just-Why are you doing that?!”

“He _kissed_ you”, growled Nico, as though that was much of an explanation.

The son of Poseidon shook his head hastily as he tried to pull Nico off the blonde. “He didn't. I kissed him! B—Because he said he's never kissed a boy before and I figured that it would be the least I could do to let him have his first boy-kiss from the boy he's crushing o-”

A horrible realization dawned on Percy as he stared wide-eyed at Nico. He knew that look in those dark eyes.  _Jealousy_ . Years of being chased by way too many people – Annabeth, Rachel, Calypso, Kinzie, Reyna – had taught him to read such things. He knew jealousy when it was glaring at him. And oh gods, was that not the most embarrassing thing possible?! Jason wasn't crushing on Percy, he was crushing on  _Nico_ . Worse yet, they were crushing on each other. A quest about admitting true feelings, that was why Nico and Jason had been part of that quest. Because they had a thing for each other. That was why Jason had been so awkward and kept talking about Nico all the time. He hadn't been coming onto Percy, he had tried to get information from Percy! Great, now he felt horrible for betraying Nico's trust like that, for taking Jason's first boy kiss like that and for hating the notion of Nico and Jason together. He had completely failed as a friend. Once again.

“What in the world is going on here?!”, growled a highly annoyed voice from behind.

The three boys turned to face Frank, Hazel, Leo, Piper, Reyna and Annabeth, all giving them funny looks. Though the flustered state of Leo and Annabeth did not go unnoticed by Percy – neither did the rather smug grin on Reyna's face as she stood slightly behind Annabeth or the fact that Frank and Hazel were on either side of Leo as though to protect him from a possible danger (it must look quite intimidating to have the sons of the Big Three with drawn weapons and in fighting stances).

“Enough now, boys!”, called Piper, her charmspeak heavy. “Sit down and stop it!”

The three boys found themselves obeying, though Jason made sure to sit down as far away from Percy and Nico as possible, half hiding behind Piper and Reyna. Next to Reyna sat the ruffled Annabeth, on whose other side Percy took place with one raised eyebrow. He wondered briefly what he may have missed, but Nico's presence on his other side was rather distracting. Especially because Nico was radiating an aura of darkness, power and danger. And damn, that was a total turn-on. Hazel tried to calm Nico down, taking the free place next to her brother, pulling her two boys down with her so Leo could sit next to Jason and Frank was between Leo and Hazel.

“What happened here?”, asked Frank sharply, eying the sons of the Big Three.

“None of your concern, Zhang”, spat Nico, his tone hostile and forbidding any objection.

“Let us discuss more urgent matters, yes?”, suggested Reyna in a diplomatic voice. “We talked to the Greeks. We bring news. And we shadow-traveled here, so how about food?”

Piper grinned and grabbed the cornucopia, summoning a rich and delicious meal. They fell into light conversation as Reyna started to retell all the things she had discussed with Clarisse, Chiron and Rachel, all the agreements they had conduced. But once again, Nico failed to be interested in these things. He felt hatred flare in his chest for Jason, but he couldn't help but wonder why  _Percy_ would have initiated a kiss with  _Jason_ . Was Percy having feelings for Jason? H—How could that happen?! He couldn't allow that. Not another insufferable blonde to take his Sea Prince away from him. Not again. His eyes wandered over to Percy, shining with loss and pain. Taking Percy in was drowning those worries out though. Beneath the beautiful, sea-green eyes were dark bangs and there was a haunted look in them as though all he knew were nightmares. Pale and aghast, haunted. It was the only way Nico could describe his beloved. And with a concerned glance over to the blonde girl next to Percy, he felt his fears confirmed. While everyone was digging in like starving men, Annabeth and Percy timidly had their hands folded in their laps.

“Have you two eaten anything since we left?”, asked Nico, not caring that he was interrupting.

The others however seemed to care just as little, because the discussions on their future actions and how to deal with having Greek-Roman backup died down the instant this issue was addressed. Every member of the crew had already considered that thought, but no one dared to ask, or if they dared, they had been shunned by Percy and/or Annabeth and send away.

“I—I'm not hungry”, shrugged Percy, deliberately not looking at Nico.

“That's bullshit”, snorted Nico and rolled his eyes. “You're _starving_.”

“W—What do you mean?”, asked Annabeth confused, feeling Reyna's hand on hers.

The son of Hades however didn't seem to pay any attention to her as he grabbed the horn. “It's Tartarus. You drank the fires of the River Phlegethon, haven't you?”

“It... healed us”, shrugged the daughter of Athena wearily.

The others took a sharp breath at the thought of drinking  _fire_ . Percy and Annabeth had not yet shared any details about their stay in Tartarus. It was a topic not to be approached.

“It burned you from within”, corrected Nico, weighting the horn in his hand. “It makes it impossible to keep mortal food inside. The way you hauled down everything during the feast, I figured it may have not affected you or that you may not have drank the fire.”

“It... came up the way it went down”, confessed Percy unwillingly. “Leaving a worse taste in my mouth than the fire had. I—I don't... want to eat anything. It tastes _revolting_ and it hurts...”

The Ghost King nodded and shook the horn, summoning a single, ripe pomegranate. With a simple motion, he split it in half and placed one in front of Annabeth and the other in Percy's hand.

“Here. Eat”, ordered the son of Hades, staring Percy down. “It won't hurt.”

“Why should we?”, snorted Annabeth, throwing a nasty glare at Nico. “Taking a pomegranate from a child of Hades seems to be an awful idea and why should this be any dif—Percy!”

“What?”, mumbled Percy around a mouth full of pomegranate seeds. “Nico said it's okay.”

“B—But...”, stuttered the daughter of Athena stunned. “You just said it yourself. It hurts, it burns, it... it tastes so, so much more horrible than the fire had. How can you just...?”

She couldn't find it in herself, ever since they had descended, she had not put a single piece of food into her mouth, being actually afraid of how it would taste and feel. She had suspected that Percy had the same problem, but he hadn't voiced it and she hadn't known how to either. Yet here he was, even though eating must have been as revolting to him as it was to her, shoving the pomegranate seeds into his mouth as though his life depended on them. Which, after nearly a week without food, it admittedly actually may. She stared at him in amazement and shook her head.

“Nico said it's okay”, repeated Percy, his voice soft, as he slowed down some. “So it must be.”

Nico chuckled fondly at the unlimited trust Percy always managed to put into his friends. “The pomegranate is the fruit of the underworld. It's like a binding thing between the underworld and the mortal world. For the next couple of weeks, it may be the only thing you can keep down. But it'll help, it'll accustom you to mortal food again. Tartarus is vengeful, even if you manage to leave, it tries to kill you. You won't be able to eat much, or else it'll come back with a vengeance too. So... hand the rest of that to me, please, Percy. I don't want you with your head in the toilet.”

Percy blushed, staring at the half-eaten half of the fruit mournfully as he obediently handed it over to Nico once more. Even though right now it was the best thing he had ever eaten in his life, because it actually had  _taste_ and after the fires and the way mortal food had tasted, he couldn't believe he would ever taste something so good again. Still, just as he trusted Nico that the pomegranate would be alright, he also trusted Nico that he shouldn't eat too much.

“That's why you've only been picking at pomegranates after we retrieved you from Rome”, conducted Jason, suddenly feeling very stupid. “Of course. Argh. Why didn't you say so?”

“Why should I?”, snarled Nico, letting Jason feel that he was not yet forgiven.

“Does... Does that mean Percy and Annabeth will be alright again?”, asked Leo softly, worried.

“Yes”, replied Nico, nodding slowly. “Like I said, it will take some time. Their bodies need to adjust to the food first. So... for now, only pomegranates. And not too much of that either.”

That was about the last thing Nico said for the rest of the meeting as the attention shifted back to the quest at hand. Instead, Nico's eyes were fixed on Percy, the son of Poseidon looking way more relieved now that he had eaten again. Out of the corner of his eyes, Nico saw that Annabeth too was slowly picking at the pomegranate. As much as he hated her for taking Percy away from him, he knew she meant too much to Percy, he could not let her go harmed either.

 

/break\

 

The night had come by the time the demigods finally ended their meeting and Percy could not be more grateful for it. After having eaten for the first time in days, he felt positively tired and satisfied. It also helped that Nico was back with him. With them, he corrected himself.

“I think it's time for us to go to bed. I fear the worst is yet to come”, sighed Hazel.

“But... where will Reyna and Nico be staying?”, frowned Leo confused.

“Well, you could stay with Hazel and me, that would give us two empty rooms and beds”, smirked Frank suggestively, making the Latino blush furiously. “Enough room for them to rest too.”

“You are not sharing a bed with my sister”, growled Nico dangerously. “None of you two.”

“Nico!”, whined Hazel embarrassed, glaring half-heartedly at her brother.

“Reyna will stay with me”, interrupted Annabeth, blushing faintly. “I mean, uh, it... if she wants.”

“I would _love to_ ”, smirked Reyna, not even trying to hide the suggestiveness of her words.

“I'm fine. I can take watch-duty”, grunted Nico, not keen on rooming with anyone.

“No. That's crazy. You only just arrived. You need rest”, objected Percy and shook his head.

“Percy is right”, agreed Jason, earning himself an oddly wistful look from Percy. “Why don't you stay with Percy? Make sure he doesn't do something stupid like eat more. Because he keeps eying that pomegranate a little too fondly for my liking. I think Percy and Annabeth could use a little... supervision at the moment. And with Reyna staying with Annabeth, it would be a good solution to have you stay with Percy and keep an eye on him.”

“Very good thinking”, agreed Piper with a nod. “Now that that's settled, off to bed, little heroes.”

“We have a war waiting ahead of us”, nodded Frank solemnly, grabbing Leo's hand.

 

/break\

 

Percy was feeling awfully awkward as he shed his jeans and stared at his bed. Truth be told, the bed would be big enough for two people. But Nico was with Jason, or at least there was _something_ between Nico and Jason, so it really wasn't right of him to impose for the sake of his own desires. The thought made him blush. He had never realized that his longing for his dark guardian angel was more than just friendship until he was faced with the possibility of Nico being romantically involved with someone. With Jason. It had hit him hard and square in the face and it _hurt_.

“I'm sorry, Nico”, whispered Percy, still facing the opposite direction.

“What for?”, grunted Nico, honestly confused.

The son of Hades stood behind Percy, fidgeting with the idea of even getting out of his jeans. Staring at Percy's legs and the underwear that was currently the only thing covering Percy's ass had made him face quite a problem. Undressing would make it impossible to hide said problem.

“For kissing Jason”, replied the son of Poseidon softly. “He kept bugging me, asking me strange questions about gay friends and how I'd handle if one was to confess his feelings to me. He sounded concerned about how it must be to you and Hazel, coming from a time where homosexuality was more than just frowned upon. I... I misunderstood. I thought he was having feelings for _me_. But... the thing you and him faced, it involved admitting feelings of a sort, right? The two of you had to face it together, because... those feelings are between you.”

“Percy...”, muttered Nico stunned and shook his head. “You Seaweed Brain...”

“N—No, it's alright”, interrupted Percy and turned around to face Nico with a faint smile. “I understand. I'm just sorry. I didn't mean to impose. I guess I was just also a little... desperate. To maybe have someone who desires me. Since... returning from Tartarus, all I want is... someone to hold me and rock me and tell me that everything will be alright...”

“What about Annabeth?”, wanted Nico to know, a frown marring his features.

“We... broke up”, confessed the Sea Prince with a casual shrug. “And even so, it's just... too close. We've both been there. There is nothing to... talk about. Besides, we already burdened each other enough by _being there_. I think what we feel is mutual guilt at the moment.”

“Y—You and Annabeth... broke up? And you kissed Jason?”, asked Nico a little frustrated.

How was his timing that horrible, really? After the Titan War he nearly had the courage to tell Percy, because he had nearly lost his Sea Prince. But then Annabeth had butted in. And now Jason?

“It's not like that!”, assured Percy doe-eyed. “I promise, I'm not trying to snag your man away!”

“My... man...?”, repeated Nico slowly, trying to filter through everything Percy had said until he understood. “Oh gods, that is the most _ridiculous_ thing you said all day. Jason is many things, mostly annoying and a prat, but he is _not_ my man.”

“B—But you were... jealous?”, pointed Percy out, completely confused now.

“Of him! Not of you!”, screamed Nico frustrated before realizing what he had said. “I just... I can't put up with this anymore. You just... you're frustrating, Percy. I can't... I'd rather have you know the truth than have you think that I'm with _Jason_. Urgh. No. I can't keep doing that, I can't keep watching you from afar, protecting you from afar, but seeing you with someone else.”

“D—Does that... mean you like me...?”, whispered Percy stunned, unsure.

Nico took a deep, stuttering breath as he stepped up to Percy, staring intensely into those amazing eyes. “I love you, Percy. I always loved you. I had the worst crush on you when we first met and with the years, those feelings only grew. I love you, Percy. More than my own life.”

He could practically see how Percy's brain tried to figure everything out. It was quite agonizing to just stand there and wait. Deep down, he still feared rejection. Even more so, what may happen if Percy returned the feelings. How everybody would react to the great and wonderful hero dating a son of Hades. He feared for Percy, for his bright and happy Percy, to face bullying and rejection.

“I'm so, so stupid”, whispered the son of Poseidon and turned the darkest red possible, groaning annoyed at his own stupidity. “How often can someone misinterpret a situation...?”

“You're not stupid, Percy”, corrected Nico softly, reluctantly resting one hand on Percy's shoulder. “I've just always done everything to hide my feelings for you, Percy.”

“And you did a _horrible_ job of it!”, snorted Percy and stared at the son of Hades. “How could I not have seen it for what it really was? All the times you saved my life, how you always returned to camp because of _me_ , how you've always been there and risking everything when I asked you. It was so obvious. How could I not have seen it...? Oh gods, I am so, so, so sorry...”

“You don't need to be sorry”, said the Ghost King and turned away. “I understand. You're not...”

_Not like me_ . Not gay. Not maddeningly in love. Not completely head over heels and ready to do everything and anything that it would take. Not meant to be Nico's.

“If only I had known earlier...”, murmured the Sea Prince softly, resting his hands on either side of Nico's face, making the Italian look at him. “No. That's not true. I've never... considered this. I needed the time it took to figure myself out. Maybe now is just the right time.”

“I don't understand”, grunted Nico with a confused frown on his face.

“I... really like you”, whispered Percy, his face slowly coming closer to Nico's. “I don't... know about love, I think I've never been in love, I don't know what that feels like. But I know that I like you so very much, that I appreciate all you've done for me. That... that you've always been there for me. You make me feel safe and I know that I can rely on you, that I can trust you. If... you're okay with that for now, would you... give me a chance to fall in love with you?”

The son of Hades was frozen at the spot, unable to comprehend what his love had just offered. This whole situation was too surreal to happen. Never would Nico have pictured—that Percy's lips could feel so soft upon his own. The light press against his lips interrupted his thoughts and he found himself staring into the serene face of the boy he loved. Arms wrapped around his neck as though Percy feared that Nico would push him away again. Not that that would ever happen. Grunting surprised, Nico wrapped his arms around Percy's waist and pulled the Sea Prince closer.

“You taste like sea water”, murmured Nico once they parted.

“And you taste like pomegranates”, grinned Percy back and cocked his head, licking his lips. “Does... that mean you would give me a chance? Be my boyfriend?”

“Percy”, whispered Nico, burying his nose in Percy's hair. “I was ready to stay in the shadows and watch over you. I never thought I'd have a chance. I'll take everything you are willing to give me.”


	5. Let's Continue

_Step 5: Let's Continue_

 

Percy sat crouched together at the foot end of the bed. His knees were pulled up against his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs tightly, his chin resting on his knees. The sounds in the darkness were what kept him awake. At first, it had been nice, laying next to Nico, talking. But at one point, the Italian had fallen asleep and then Percy was on his own with the shadows and the fears that haunted him. Every shadow looked like a torn face of a monster.

“Percy...?”, yawned Nico sleepily.

The son of Hades blearily blinked his eyes open, patting the bed on either side of him. Sitting up, he found what he was looking for. But his Sea Prince looked weary and tired. Not good.

“Go back to sleep, Nico”, whispered Percy softly.

“Only if you do too”, ordered Nico and leaned over to wrap his arms around Percy's waist. “Come here, babe. Why are you awake? It's the middle of the night. You need your sleep.”

“Don't call me babe, I'm not a blonde Barbie and you are not my pimp”, huffed Percy and wiggled his nose annoyed. “I just... can't sleep, okay? Can we leave it at that and you go back to sleep?”

“Why can't you sleep?”, asked the son of Hades softly, hugging Percy closer until the older boy was seated on his lap. “Talk to me, please. I don't like seeing you upset, mio amore.”

That name seemed to be more accepted, because Percy leaned against him, relaxing some. “Nightmares... of... well, Tartarus. I don't like it, it's so... dark, but not dark enough. All the shadows look as though there are faces, monsters in them a—and I... I know it's stupid. I'm a hero, I shouldn't be afraid of the dark. And it's not the dark, really. It's more... the light... the shadows.”

“How is that then?”, asked Nico and with a snap of his wrist, the room darkened until it was pitch-black, not a single shadow or creak of light. “Is it better now or worse?”

Percy looked around. No shadows that looked like weird monsters. Only darkness and the feeling of Nico's chest against his back. Shifting some, he rested his ear against Nico's heart, listening to the steady heartbeat of his lover, his eyes fixed on the blackness around them. It was comforting, because he could feel that those shadows came from his Ghost King.

“I think... I love you”, whispered Percy and leaned up to kiss Nico's cheek.

“Just sleep some more, amore”, chuckled the son of Hades amused. “I will keep guard.”

He cradled Percy closer until he was laying sprawled on top of Nico. Running his fingers through soft hair, he listened closely for Percy's breath until it evened out and he could be sure that his love was asleep. Frowning to himself, he buried his nose in Percy's hair, inhaling the delicious, salty scent. He disliked what Tartarus had done to the son of Poseidon. But Nico swore to himself that he would help Percy through this, would make sure that Percy would come out of this alright.

 

/break\

 

Annabeth hummed contently to herself as she snuggled up to the soft, warm cushion beneath her cheek. This was nice. Soft and nice. She liked that, especially because the way she recalled it, the pillows on the Argo II were nearly hard as stone.

“Are you still asleep or are you pretending so you can cuddle with my boobs?”

The daughter of Athena blinked slowly and turned her head to look up at Reyna, just to realize that she was laying with her head against Reyna's chest. A bright blush lit up her face as she tried to turn away, just to end up with her nose pressed against the round, soft not-pillow.

“Good morning”, mumbled the blonde.

“Good morning”, replied Reyna, tenderly kissing the top of Annabeth's head. “You want to get up and fetch breakfast or do you want to just... cuddle some longer? You seem to enjoy yourself.”

“Can we... just lay here?”, asked Annabeth with a small sigh. “We're going to face war soon and I... want to enjoy _us_ as long as possible. Can we do that?”

“Of course”, agreed the daughter of Bellona relieved.

Her fingers were playing with the blonde curls. This felt good, oddly normal. For a child of war, it felt oddly like the calm before the next big storm and in the back of their minds, both daughters of war were more than aware of the pending battle. Right now, this moment, it was just them. No Gaia, no giants. Only being together. Pressing her lips against the top of Annabeth's head, Reyna prayed that once this war was over, they would get the opportunity to have many more moments like this.

 

/break\

 

“Okay, so... Humor me, once more”, prompted Piper, one eyebrow arched in a skeptical way. “Nico is in love with Percy and when you tried to help Nico, you ended up making Percy believe that you love Percy and then Nico dropped by and also got the impression that you have something going on with Percy. Basically, a third of the crew think you're gay for Percy now, yes?”

“Two out of nine are not a third”, muttered Jason. “But basically, yes.”

“It is a third. You forgot to include me in those maths”, grunted Piper with a glare. “I am not going to leave you alone in a room with Percy until I'm more convinced.”

There was a playful tone to her voice though and it went right to Jason. Grinning slightly, the Roman leaned up, adapting the same playfulness in a glint of his electric blue eyes.

“Then let me... thoroughly convince you that I'm straight”, suggested the former praetor of Camp Jupiter with a smirk and leaned in to kiss her. “Let's snog.”

“Really?”, snorted Piper and burst into laughing. “Really? Snog?”

“Way to kill the mood”, muttered Jason with a glare. “We can just eat lunch, if you don't want to.”

“Sorry, sorry”, chuckled the native American apologetically and leaned in. “Let's snog, mh?”

 

/break\

 

Placing Nico in Percy's room had been strategically clever for the local threesome, because a Nico that was occupied with Percy didn't think of constantly checking on his sister's virtue. Which led to a very content Hazel, having her arms wrapped around a half-naked Latino. The fire-bender laid sprawled on top of her, snuggling up to her and basically having the function of a heating blanket. Frank was laying next to them, propped up on one arm so he could just stare at his lovers.

“You're a creep, Zhang”, mumbled Leo as he turned to look at Frank.

“These could be the last peaceful minutes we may get”, whispered the Canadian and reached out to caress the Latino's curls. “I want to spend them looking at those I love.”

“You're a sap, Zhang”, teased Hazel with a soft smile. “It's way past noon. We should get up.”

 

/break\

 

While the other couples were still below deck, cuddled up to each other and making out, Percy had insisted on dragging Nico up at the crack of dawn. Then again, as long as everybody else was below deck, Nico had Percy's full attention and some alone-time with the Sea Prince, so he was quite alright with it. With his arms wrapped around Percy's waist did the Ghost King stare down at the skyline of Athens. Their destination. Their destiny. Their doom.

“Whatever happens in Athens and with Gaia”, whispered Nico into Percy's ear. “Know that I love you and that I will always love you, in this life and any life that will follow.”

 

_~*~ The End ~*~_


End file.
